The fieldtrips are the heart and soul of this field-course. If you cannot make the fieldtrips you should seriously reconsider taking the course. Yes, they are THAT essential. Everything we do in class is in preparation for what we will see on the fieldtrips.
Fieldtrip #1: The first trip will be to the Appalachians of North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee and will be held from 7am on Friday October 21st through 10pm on Sunday October 23rd. You will be missing all of your courses on Friday, which means that you must ask for permission from all of your instructors that day, to miss their courses. I will provide you with an excused absence for your Friday courses if necessary.
Fieldtrip #2: The second fieldtrip will be held on Saturday November 12th from 7am to 7pm and will take us through North Carolina’s volcanic arc terranes of the piedmont.
Fieldtrip #3: The third fieldtrip will be held on Sunday November 13th from 7am to 7pm (itinerary to be announced)
What to BRING on OVERNIGHT Fieldtrip #1
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping pad
- Tent (or know your tent spot we arranged for you)
- cup, bowl, plate, eating utensils
- field notebook
- hand lens and acid bottles (you got this in class from us)
If you are unable to supply yourself with each of these we will rent equipment for you. Same goes for tents – we will discuss the tent situation later in class.
- Warm clothes to be worn around bonfire at night
- Layered clothes for temperature fluctuations throughout the weekend
- Day backpack
- Water Bottle (there will be refill stations)
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- Flashlight or Headlamp (the woods are dark at night and the walk to the bathroom is 0.25 miles)
- Bug Spray
- Camera (lots of gorgeous scenery and spectacular outcrops)
- Hat to wear during the daytime
- Warmy wool hat to wear at night – believe me when I tell you that this can make the difference between a warm toasty night and a miserable freezing nightmare
- Raingear (we’ll check weather report beforehand)
- Comfortable hiking shoes/sneakers (ABSOLUTELY NO HIKING SANDALS) – they must be closed-toed!!! Absolutely no NO FLIP FLOPS by the fire!!!
- A notebook and pencil for notes – your field notebook will be collected at the end of the trip on Sunday evening
- Any personal medications
Please pack lightly. Duffelbags or similar – no hard suitcases.
There will be absolutely no alcohol consumption in the campgrounds…
